Brian Brown – Knoxville Win is What the Dr. Ordered!

(Bill W) May 5, 2014 – After struggling through the early 2014 season, the Brian Brown Racing Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team got a shot in the arm with a big win Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway. The win was the Grain Valley, Missouri driver’s 26th, which is ninth all-time at the historic oval. This week sees three events. On Wednesday the team competes with the World of Outlaws at the bullring in Jacksonville, Illinois. Thursday’s venue will be close to home with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series hitting Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Saturday, the team will be back at Knoxville looking for two in a row.

Last weekend, you started at Outlaw Motor Speedway in Muskogee, Oklahoma with ASCS on Friday. You won your heat from the pole.

It was a good start to the weekend. It was our first national tour (ASCS) race since Yuma. Everything felt good. We had a good Jaymie Moyle engine in from Searsboro Telephone Company.

The redraw saw you start as far back as possible (8) in the feature.

It got a little slicker than we thought for the feature. It built a good cushion and it was tough to pass. We went 25 non-stop laps, and we went from eighth to sixth. There were a couple of times when I thought we would run in the top three, but we didn’t get the run we needed. We weren’t as fast as (winner) Aaron Reutzel, but we definitely had a top three or four car. The race just didn’t play out the way we needed it to.

In time trials at Knoxville on Saturday, you timed in ninth quick. We usually see you in the top three.

We’ve been trying things every time we go to Knoxville to get better. We tried some things in qualifying that didn’t suit what we had working. Really, you need to be in the top eight…so ninth isn’t where you want to be.

You ended up in the redraw for the first four rows though.

With the four heat format, inverting six and taking five to the feature, helped us a little. Unfortunately for Ryan Bunton, he got upside down, but that moved us into that eighth spot to get in the redraw.

The car looked very good in the heat. You started fourth and won it.

To win the race in August (Knoxville Nationals), you have to be able to run the top and the bottom. With the opportunity, we’ll run the bottom as much as we can. That way, we’ll be able to go down there in August when it’s not comfortable. That was our goal in the heat. Cole (Wood) was running a good pace there, but we were able to run the bottom and win the heat.

The heat had to give you confidence going into the main event.

At that point, we felt we were in pretty good shape. But we felt that way there on opening night, and we didn’t make the right adjustments for the feature. I was last to redraw and we were lucky enough to get the three pill for our starting spot in the feature, so that worked out.

Early on, you settled into second.

On the start, RJ Johnson spun his tires on the outside of row one a little bit, and we were able to get to second behind Lynton (Jeffrey). We were running a good pace. At that point, there was no sense in sliding around, using tires and carrying on that early in the race.

You were able to get the lead on a restart after a red flag period.

We were able to get the lead there in traffic before the red came out for Cole. That put us back in second, but we were able to get a good run down the backstretch on the restart, and we found the bottom in three and four. Once we did that, the car really came to us. The last twelve or thirteen laps, I think I only missed it one time.

Terry McCarl was trying to run you down, but you seemed to gain momentum.

It seemed like we got better as the race went on, especially late in traffic, where we could go anywhere we wanted to. We made a few adjustments on the red there earlier. The car felt a little free for as early as it was in the race. We definitely made the car better. It was pretty flawless by the end.

That win had to be special for you.

Seeing those double checkers from Doug Clark was as good a feeling as you can have. Win #26 felt like win number one. With the season we’ve had up until now, it’s not been an easy chore. Chad Morgan, Zach Thomas, Snook and Greg didn’t give up, and neither do all our partners.

I know the whole team has been behind you despite some of your struggles.

I’ve probably had more text messages from our partners the last couple months just telling us not to give up and that they are behind me 100%. They told me if I’m banged up, that I didn’t need to go out there and jeopardize the whole year. It’s good to know they’re behind us 100%. That means as much to us as winning five in a row and having everyone excited. When you’re having bad luck, it separates the men from the boys.

You have a lot of variety in track sizes and competition this week. I think the Jacksonville race will be awesome.

It’s a big week. Wednesday night at Jacksonville has the possibility of being one of the best Outlaw races of the year. The races I’ve seen there in the past combined with the Outlaws is very exciting. We’ve won there a couple times in the past and I think we have a pretty good shot.

You’ve been no slouch at Lakeside either.

I’m really looking forward to Lakeside. It’s a great weekend with racing in the air in the Kansas City area. Saturday, we’ll be back in Knoxville, so it’s a busy week. We’re ready to get right back at it. Our win on Saturday was just what the doctor ordered!

Follow Brian on the Web, Twitter and Facebook!

Follow Brian at his website located at www.BrianBrownRacing.com!

Also keep up with FVP, Casey’s and Brian on Facebook and Twitter at the following links…

Brian won last Fall’s “Shaheen’s Blast from the Past” at Jacksonville Speedway in Illinois with the MOWA series. Jerrod Hull was second, followed by Terry McCarl, Bryan Clauson and Robbie Standridge.

15% off of Enco Tools Purchase!

Receive 15% off of your order with Enco Tools! Just go to www.UseEnco.com and use the coupon code “BBR21”!

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey’s General Stores is a Fortune-500 company (NASDAQ CASY) operating nearly 1700 convenience stores in 11 states through the Midwest. Known for its “Homemade-To-Go” pizza, sandwiches, donuts and bakery items, Casey’s strives to consistently deliver quality gas, fresh kitchen-prepared food, clean environments and friendly service at every retail location. Casey’s is currently the 12th largest c-store chain and sixth largest pizza chain in the United States.

About FVP

We are very excited to introduce our new line of automotive chemicals, oils and fluids to our product offering. These new products will be available at many retailers across the country. We continue to offer a full line of high quality oil, air, cabin air and fuel filters, plus a complete line of high quality batteries for multiple applications including cars, trucks, SUV’s, commercial and other specialty vehicles. All products are made to OE manufacturer fitment specifications. FVP products are engineered to provide our customers with quality products that are equal or superior in performance to the major national brands at a competitive price. To learn more about our FVP products or to find out where you can have FVP products installed in your vehicle, visit us at www.FVPparts.com! FVP…The Confident Solution

Marketing Partner of the Week – Enco Tools

Since 1940, Enco has been a leading source for quality machinery, cutting tools and industrial supplies at the guaranteed lowest prices anywhere. They’re dedicated to delivering the best value for your money. Rely on Enco for fast, friendly customer service, knowledgeable associates and secure shopping online. Receive 15% off of your order with Enco Tools! Just go to www.UseEnco.com and use the coupon code “BBR21”!

Associate Marketing Partner of the Week – FSR Race Products

Brian says – “Garry (Bell) and his family have been a big supporter of Brian Brown Racing since its inception. We use a lot of their products that I feel racers should be using like their engine mount radiators, block heaters, toe plates and their hot water heater. They make a lot of great products, and it’s great to represent them.”
This is Brian's second year being involved with Four Seasons Radiator (FSR) Race Products. The products used from FSR include engine mount radiators and an engine block heater that runs off 110 volts. FSR Radiator wants to insure the highest level of customer service by meeting your product needs. They are dedicated to Ground Support Equipment and understand the high demands of the industries they are involved in. They specialize in building radiators and fuel tanks for tug and beltloader applications. They also build forklift, push-back and other GSE radiators. Their radiators are designed to fit! No Universal Applications! Plus, all of their radiators come with a ONE YEAR WARANTY! Visit them on the web at www.fsrradiator.com!